Clevedon’s first literary festival will take place next month.

The festival is being held from June 11-12 and tickets are available from the Discover Clevedon website at
www.discoverclevedon.co.uk/blog/programme-announcement-join-the-firstclevedon-literary-festival-11th-12th-june-2021

In 2020, a team from around Clevedon had started to plan a literary festival for the town. By January, they had a programme of more than 20 venues, guests and an arts grant approved, but the events were postponed due to the coronavirus pandemic.

This year, the team has worked to create a two-day event that covers everything to do with written, spoken and sung word.

With a theme of More Than Words, this year’s festival will include interpretations of music into synchronised swimming displays, live music, author panel discussions, comic book masterclasses and demonstrations from book binders.

Alistair Sims of Books On The Hill will also be launching his dyslexia friendly collection of books under his publishing venture, Both Press.

With help from local writer Chrissey Harrison, he has raised a significant amount of money to produce eight books on cream paper, using Verdana font, with spacing that is easier for people with dyslexia to read.

He said: “One of the most satisfying thing of being a bookseller is helping children finding books they want, especially so when they were scared of reading due to their dyslexia.

"Since we started the project, Books On The Hill has had many adults customers with dyslexia come in shop asking for something accessible to read. Now we can help.”

With the support of local businesses, the festival hopes to draw locals and visitors to Clevedon to enjoy the book shops, café, independent cinema, open parks and community spaces available.

It is also collaborating with Plastic Free Clevedon to reduce waste as much as possible, promoting digital communication rather than paper, and printing only what is needed to spread the word about their events.

Organiser Carol Price is optimistic for success this June and in future years to come.

She said: “We are so looking forward to the festival happening this year, we have really enjoyed putting together a programme which will have something for everyone and we hope the local community will come together and celebrate with us.

"This is intended to be the first of an annual event, so we welcome ideas and support for future festivals."

For more information, email sarahmaccuaig@outlook.com or find @clevedonliteraryfestival on Facebook and Instagram and @clevedonlitfest on Twitter.